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Harvesters
This Article is based on a species created by Biologicah. "They are such a fascinating species... so successful, yet reliant on one species of plant that they dedicate their lives to growing fields of.. perhaps this is the same crop that the precursors that made them ate?" -Seventh of Insightseekers, on the Harvesters. The Harvesters are a eusocial race of farmers, devoting their entire lives to growing the singular crop that they eat. They were engineered by the same precursors that made the Maintainers to produce specialised crops that the precursors would then eat. Whilst there was some diversity in what the hives grew, only one crop remains. Biology "The Harvesters have their fair share of peculiar yet fascinating features; from the sheer volume of tentacles within the mouth of both the worker and the administrator to the slime that can be used as an adhesive that comes out with the queens' eggs." -''A Fool's Guide to Commonwealthian Species'' Whilst it is not known what planet the Harvesters came from, it is clear that the planet had suitable conditions to host such a large eusocial species. Theories include a somewhat mountainous temperate planet and a relatively flat planet with some mountainous areas, which is where the Harvesters would have resided. These theories are based off of their obsession with agriculture and their tendency to place their hives in mountains rather than build them from the ground up. Physical Description The Harvesters bear little resemblance to anything on Earth, pretty much entirely because they're, well, aliens. Even the common traits between Castes are few in number; their four, insect-like legs have two joints, and end in a single point that makes it difficult for harvesters to move through sand. They also share similar sensory organs, with the antennae and the compound eyes. Finally, they all have slits of their they breathe through. Like the Jre, the Harvesters are composed of three castes, each with their own role to play. The physical differences between these castes are even more extreme than the Jre. Workers The Workers tend to the crops for their entire 6-month lifespan, spending the last week of their life collecting the fully grown crops and planting new crops for future Workers to tend to. For this purpose, they have a mouth filled with many, many tentacles that extract the crops from the ground easily and in large numbers. Their eyes are also low down, as to easily check for any parasites that may be feasting on their beloved crops. They share a similar body plan with the Administrators. Queens The Queens are the ones who set up and maintain a hive's populations. They are very physically different to the Workers and the Administrators, taking a more traditional quadrupedal form. They are born with a concealed male appendage for fertilising another Queen with. They have a transparent membrane on their back that contains all of the eggs that the Queen makes prior to their laying. Their tail has a mouth-like feature on the end that opens and releases eggs. They have a proboscis for eating regurgitated crops. They have the poorest eyesight out of all of the castes. Administrators The Administrators are the largest caste of the Harvesters, and also by far the most intelligent. They have a fifth leg to support their significantly larger brain, and also have a shell on top of their head that functions as a shield against any external factors that might harm their brain. Whilst they have less, they still have plenty of tentacles in their mouth, primarily to eat with. They have two sacs on their head that inflate when they need the attention of Workers and Queens. They have the same tail as the queen does, but it is used to excrete rather than lay eggs. They have the best eyesight out of any caste, and also the largest legspan. All Harvesters have an endoskeleton, which primarily supports their otherwise brittle legs. The Harvesters are physically relatively weak, being more suited to farming rather than fighting. Nevertheless, they are quite strong thanks to their sheer size, being quite capable of knocking down most things smaller than them. They are quite easily killed though, due to their weak endoskeleton around their organs. Their nervous system is centralised, and can die from simply losing a leg, though there are exceptions, primarily with administrators.